Getting Grandad Better

  by Mae Mitchell

  Winner of Oxfordshire Libraries’

  eBook Short Story Competition 2022

  in the Children’s category

  Once upon a time there was a girl called Mae and she was very lucky because she had a funny, kind and loving 80-year-old Grandad. He was a superhero, better than Superman or Batman or any other fictional superheroes you could think of. He’s the best person you could ever meet. Everybody is so special to him, if you’re nice he is nice and if you need help, he will start and not leave until the job is done.

  Mae and Grandad would always go on adventures together.

  One day Mae had been at home playing games with her cheeky little brother, just having a chill day. Mae heard mum’s phone ringing and a while later mum said, “That was Grandma on the phone, Grandad is not very well, he’s had to go to hospital.”

  Mae felt really sad, she wondered what was going to happen and if Grandad was ok. The more she thought about it, the more Mae knew she had to do something. Grandad was her best friend in the world – she needed to do something to help him get better.

  Mae went to her bedroom and crawled into the secret hidey-hole under her bed. She found her brilliant backpack. Looking inside, Mae checked all her important gadgets and special things were inside. “Just one thing missing," she thought to herself.

  Feeling around on the shelf above her, Mae found what she was looking for: a photo of her and Grandad in a special super shiny heart shaped frame. Smiling at the picture Mae tucked it safely in her brilliant backpack and zipped it up.

  Sneaking quietly down the hallway with a small square gadget in her hand, Mae got to the living room door, leaned in and pressed a small silver button on the square. The living room suddenly went quiet. “Well done time freeze machine, now Mum and Alfie won’t wonder where I am!” Mae said.

  Getting on her super scooter she set off for the hospital.

  When she arrived, Mae got out her tracker from her brilliant backpack and set it to find Grandad. The screen lit up and showed Grandad as a small blue dot inside the hospital on a ward. Mae locked up her super scooter and, following the tracker, headed inside to find Grandad, trying to fit in so no one stopped her getting to Grandad.

  After a long time of walking along corridors and up steps, Mae finally found the ward Grandad was on. She saw a lady sitting at a desk and walked over. “Excuse me, I would really like to see my Grandad please," Mae said in her most polite voice.

  “I’m sorry, it’s not visiting time. I can’t let you in," the lady told Mae.

  Mae was so upset, “I know it’s not the rules, but please can I see him, just for a few minutes. I came all the way on my scooter. I really need to give him something. I know it will make him better!”

  The nurse looked around. “I could just give it to him for you.”

  “That’s really nice of you but it won’t be the same if I don’t give it him myself – it’s really special," Mae replied.

  “Wait right here a second…. Oh, what is your Grandad’s name?" the nurse asked. “It’s Michael Webb, he came in today by ambulance," Mae told the nurse.

  The nurse walked away down the corridor and Mae stood at the desk and waited. There was the sound of beeping machines all around and Mae thought Grandad wouldn’t like to stay here listening to that all the time.

  Suddenly Mae heard a tapping noise and looked down the corridor. It was the nurse; she was tapping on a window to tell Mae to come down. Mae walked quickly down to the room the nurse was in. “Be really quiet and really quick," she told Mae, pointing to a bed in the corner with curtains closed around it.

  Mae smiled “Thank you so much," she whispered. The nurse smiled and left the room.

  Mae walked quietly over to the bed and peeped in the curtains. Grandad was fast asleep. Mae tiptoed around the bed to a chair. She opened her brilliant backpack and reached inside. She pulled out the super shiny, heart-shaped photo frame. Looking at Grandad she put the photo on the table on Grandad’s bed so he would see it when he woke up.

  Mae reached back into her brilliant backpack and found the other things she brought for Grandad. Setting everything up on the table Mae sat down on the chair.

  As she sat down Mae heard a whisper.

  “Mae? Are you really here?” It was Grandad, he had woken up. Mae stood up

  “Grandad, I am here, are you ok?” She replied.

  “I’m ok, no need to worry. How did you get here? Does your mum know you’re here?" Grandad asked. Mae smiled cheekily and held up the time freeze machine. Grandad laughed “Oh dear, you froze your mum to come here. Let me guess, your super scooter is outside?!”

  “Mum and Alfie actually," Mae said, “And the super scooter is locked up outside, I got here in no time riding that.”

  Grandad smiled and shook his head.

  “Well, I needed to bring important things to help you get better," Mae said pointing to the table.

  Grandad looked, the heart-shaped photo was in the middle and there was a bar of moo-free chocolate, a get-well card Mae had made and folded neatly there was Taggy. Grandad picked up Taggy and said, “What’s Taggy doing here?”

  “He’s always made me better, you need him now so here he is!" Mae explained. “He is magic you know," she smiled. Grandad gave Mae a big cuddle.

  They heard footsteps.

  “Oh no, I’m going to have to go!” Mae said. She quickly grabbed her brilliant backpack, cuddled Grandad and told him she loved him. The curtain opened and the nurse was standing there. “It’s time to go,” she said.

  Mae nodded and said, “Grandad, get better really soon; we need an adventure.”

  As Mae was walking down a corridor to leave, she heard someone shouting “Wait, wait!”

  It was the nurse. Mae stopped. “Is everything ok?” she asked, a little worried.

  The nurse said “I don’t know what to say – it’s like magic! I checked your Grandad when you left and he’s completely back to normal! Whatever you did has really helped, he is better!”

  Mae couldn’t believe it, she felt so happy. The nurse explained Grandad would need to be checked by the doctor but after that if the doctor agreed he could go home. “How long will the doctor take? Have I got time to go home and get something and come back before he will be allowed to go?” Mae asked.

  The nurse said they would wait so Mae ran, all the way to her super scooter. Unlocking her scooter, Mae was so excited. She couldn’t believe all the things she gave Grandad had worked – she had helped him get better. Mae jumped on her scooter and set off at super speed. She had to get home and back again as quickly as she could.

  In no time at all, Mae was arriving back at the ward and Grandad was sitting waiting for her. “I can go home!” he cheered happily, cuddling Mae.

  “Come on, I have a surprise,” Mae told Grandad as they walked through the hospital.

  They walked outside and Grandad started laughing when he saw Mae’s surprise. Mae’s super scooter was locked up and right next to it was Grandad’s super scooter! “That’s a great idea Mae,” Grandad said. They got on their scooters and set off home happily.

  The end.

 

 

  Mae Mitchell, Getting Grandad Better

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